


The Thing Czerka Found

by Awryen



Series: OTP: Moonlighting [3]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 19:26:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17330963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awryen/pseuds/Awryen
Summary: Visiting the dangerous, sandy planet of Tatooine yields quite the adventure for Mry'da and Gault. She also meets up with an old friend of hers.





	The Thing Czerka Found

"Alright. Introductions aside, it'll take us five days to reach Alderaan. In the mean time, there's a mission that needs to be completed before we leave from here. Gault? You're coming back with us."

Tyresius, no, Gault just looked at her like she grew her own pair of horns.

"No. No way am I going back down there, _sweetheart_. I've had enough of that over grown cat box," he said, folding his arms and shaking his head in the negative. To emphasize, he made a look of disgust, tongue lolling out for affect.

Mry'da narrowed her eyes and a placed a hand at the pistol on her right hip.

"You will, or our new arrangement is off, Rennow," she growled, red glowing eyes flashing in challenge.

Wincing, Gault sighed in defeat and relented, but not without considerable grumbling.

Satisfied that her new subordinate knew his place, Mry'da turned to Mako.

"You're with us, Mako. It wouldn't be right to just leave you here alone since you've been involved every step of the way so far. Not to mention your slicing skills could come in handy."

With a grumpy look on his face, though she figured it wasn't much of a difference to his usual one, Gault sarcastically asked, "So what is this mission, _oh great and noble Boss?_ "

"It's for the Imperial Reclamation Service. To bring you up to speed, this team found an artifact that's over ten thousand years old. It's alien in origin, but they have no clue what ancient race," Mry'da said, pacing back and forth as she spoke. "This device was scavenged by some Jawas who had found a Czerka freighter out in the desert. Apparently, Czerka found something huge and the IRS wants it, or at least, they want to contain it. The smaller device proved to be rather...dangerous."

Gault sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Alright, fine. Just let me get a change of clothes. I've been seen in this one over the last few days, not to mention my broken horn...I have an extra in my things. Don't wanna get you caught with a supposed-to-be-dead fugitive, huh?" he sneered.

With that he walked off to the crew quarters, presumably to do exactly what he said.

Mry'da and Mako just looked at one another, the latter shrugging ruefully.

"Well...he does have a point. Besides, this gives us a chance to replenish our rations and water," the little cyborg said, heading for the galley.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thirty minutes passed by, the three of them getting some food in them and much needed water before they were ready to head back to the planet's surface.

Gault had shed his green, white, and red outfit for a dark brown/black jacket and grey shirt, a pair of blue cargo pants that hugged his ass ( _what the hell?_ ), and black armored boots. He'd also carried with him a sniper rifle, forgoing the pistols he had had earlier.

 _'Hmm...a longer ranged fighter would be beneficial,'_ Mry'da thought, sizing him up.

Slinging the rifle across his back, the Devaronian saluted her lazily, and waited for the go ahead to leave the ship.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

_"...I'm sure the Infinite Empire is tied to the device's origins, no matter what anyone says. And I'm tired of being ignored."_

Just finishing up the third sensor message, a Doctor Lerek, Mry'da spied a speeder heading for their location. She tensed, motioning for Mako to finish and stand back. Gault brought his rifle up, ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

However, her eyes widened in surprise and she let go of her pistols and jogged ahead of them. Gault watched her, alarmed and a bit confused. Mako was just as confused as he was.

"Awryn?" she asked.

"Mry'da? Ha!! I knew it was you!!"

A Cathar woman stopped the speeder and hopped off it, nearly knocking her passenger off in the process. The two women met in a tight embrace, big smiles on their scarred faces.

"What brings you out here, Ari?" Mry'da asked, after they pulled apart.

"Oh, you know, treasure hunting, smuggling contraband, looking to steal this one guy's sensor computer, and cleaning up Czerka's mess," the Cathar woman said, shrugging before she raised her hands and placed them behind her head.

Gault had perked up at the mention of treasure hunting and stealing things.

"Oh? Do tell, _please_ ," he said, eyes gleaming in mischief.

Awryn glanced at him and raised a brow at him, baring her sharp teeth at him slightly.

" _Don't even think about it_ , Slick. My treasure, and any rival is gonna get shot, no questions asked," she growled before pointing over her shoulder. "Farmboy here can attest to that."

"Will you _please_ stop calling me that, Captain? Corso, my _name's_ not hard to say," a young darker skinned man grumbled, grimacing at her comment. "And yeah...she does. She even let a Jedi nearly get killed in the last bar we were at."

" _Fine fine._ I just might have been able to _help_ with that little endeavor..." Gault grumbled.

Mry'da looked at her friend and raised her brows in amusement.

"Ignore him, Ari. He's been sulking since he bound himself to me. And you haven't changed a bit."

"Nope!!" Awryn grinned cheekily, her fangs gleaming in the light of the twin suns. "Now, what about you?" she asked.

"You mentioned Czerka, huh? You here about some crazy artifact?"

"Yeah. You looking as well?" she asked, green eyes narrowing.

"Yep. And I have to ask...have you and who ever you're running this errand for had the same _problems...?_ " the Chiss woman asked, emphasis on the last part.

"Cyborg zombies?"

Mry'da nodded and crossed her arms.

"Alright...I hope we're on the same page here, Ari. I don't wanna have to turn on you. The Imperial Reclamation Service wants to study it, but after seeing the smaller artifact we found in action..."

"Destroy it? Either way, I get paid. The Republic is more worried about Czerka than anything else," Awryn said, shrugging.

"Good. Cause I planned on destroying it. Whatever is in the main artifact is too dangerous to let loose."

Turning to Mako and Gault behind her, she motioned for them to get on the speeders.

"Let's finish this and find that compound. With Awryn and her companion's help, we may be able to do this."

Gault hesitated and said, "Did I hear her right? _Cyborg zombies?_ "

Nodding, Mry'da motioned Gault to join her on the speeder bike. Frowning, he grudgingly hopped on, settling in behind her and wrapping his arms about her waist.

He mumbled, "If I die, I'm coming back to haunt _you_ and _you_ alone."

Grinning, she gunned the engines and they were off, Awryn right behind her.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

After the fifth and final sensor was found, Awryn warned about some Czerka CEO's asshole son who wanted the device for himself. Despite the danger present in just the smaller artifacts, Leksende refused to be cowed from his prize.

"He could be a big problem. As soon as you give the word, we'll kill him, Ari," Mry'da vowed.

Awryn smiled at her and they continued on their way, further and further into the Dune Sea.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Finding a mostly buried Sandcrawler, the rag tag group stopped for a fifteen minute break. Rations were opened and canteens were uncorked. As they rested, Awryn caught Mry'da up on her most recent misfortunes. Some asshole Smuggler named Skavak stole her ship on Ord Mantel before she was able to recover it, and some interesting cargo, on Courascant. In the process, however, Skavak made sure to make her a target of a rather large big wig in the Underworld.

Gault whistled and winced in genuine sympathy.

"Rogun is merciless. I knew the guy, even partnered with him for a while. That guy is not someone to make angry. If _I_ were _you?_ I'd fake my death and lie low for a few years."

Awryn snorted, "I'm not afraid of him. Besides, most of the bounty hunters he's sent my way have either died at my hand or Skavak's. Heh, that group of teeny-bopper hunters didn't stand a chance against him. Delayed him long enough for me to get my ship and spend some time with this old, handsome information broker."

She waggled her brows at Mry'da on that one and the Chiss woman just laughed, clapping her friend on the shoulder.

Shaking his head, the Devaronian just grumbled, "Kids these days."

 Corking her canteen, Mry'da stood up and signaled the group to get ready and leave once again. She also did so to break up Mako and Corso, the former looking a little uncomfortable at the man's enthusiastic talk of weaponry and his odd names for them.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Another twenty minutes passed and they found the Czerka compound, deserted and eerie. It was as quiet as a tomb.

Looking on in dismay, Mry'da noted the main door was open, but she didn't see any movement from the shadows. On the ground, she did note some old corpses, all of which were just tattered cloth and bones. She had no idea how old they were as the twin suns and the harsh dessert winds and sand could age anything within weeks, if not days.

Quietly stashing their speeders near the main door, Mry'da turned to them.

"Alright. We have an idea of what may be in there, us more so than Gault. Be careful and keep your eyes peeled," she cautioned.

"Awryn and I will enter first. Gault, you'll flank us in the center. Mako and Corso will bring up the rear. Do. Not. Hesitate to kill anything that comes our way. Am I clear?"

A chorus of "yes ma'am" and "yes boss" were sounded. Nodding, Mry'da and Awryn drew their weapons. Gault slung his rifle free and readied it. Corso did the same with his blaster rifle and, to ensure she was properly protected, Mry'da dug out an extra pistol that she tossed to Mako.

"I trust you can handle two?" she asked.

"Yes," the little cyborg affirmed.

Glancing at Gault, she asked, "Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve? Besides the horn?"

Throwing her a devilish smirk, he flashed the vibro knives he had stashed up his sleeves and tapped the side of his boot. A small compartment was slightly noticeable that she assumed either had another knife or some other type of flash grenade.

"I'm always prepared. _Trust me_ ," he said.

Satisfied, they moved into the eerie, quiet compound.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

They wandered for fifteen minutes, unnerved that they had yet to run into anything. For all intents, the place felt deserted. But they never let their guard down. In fact, it made them jumpy. The halls were murky and dim, making it harder for them to see. Except for Awryn, and surprisingly, Gault.

Gault stopped and Mako nearly ran into him when he saw a pinprick of orange light flash on.

Not missing a beat, Gault hauled his rifle up and fired. Instead of a loud blast, it let out a low "thump" before the shot hit what he aimed at. The thing exploded in sparks and blood.

The body hit the ground, smoldering when ahead of them, dozens of pinpricks lit up.

"Oh fuck..."

Mry'da growled. No hesitation, she fired up her jet pack and flew into the air as the first of the drones came into the light they were under. Awryn had dove for cover, already spraying a flurry of blaster bolts. Mry'da let loose a rain of missiles, pelting a group of them to her right. Corso and Gault were pelting those in the back, though Gault focused on the bigger brutes that seemed to have some kind of influence over the drones.

Soon, a pile of smoking and charred corpses were left. The five of them waited, seemingly to hold their breath as they waited for more drones or their controllers to appear.

After a few minutes of nothing, they relaxed slightly and Mry'da gave the signal to continue on. Falling back a bit, she walked with Gault.

"Nice shooting," she commented, glancing at him once before she went back to scanning their surroundings.

"Not so bad yourself, though I knew that already," he said quietly shooting her an appreciative look.

A slight flush bled into her cheeks, but she nodded before she rejoined Awryn at the front of their group.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

A few more increments of fifteen minutes met with more drone attacks. As they moved through them, they came across an elevator that took them to the lower levels of the complex. There, they found the former head of the facility, Director Antayen. All five of them had to take him out.

Pressing on, they entered into a very large cavernous space, where a strange pyramid like edifice stood. Pylons were around it and at the base was a floating object that Mry'da assumed was the artifact in question.

However, between them and their target were groups of three to five drones with a controller.

Awryn cursed quietly.

"The SIS better pay me well for this shit."

"I agree. How much is the IRS paying you, boss?" Gault asked, his sharp eyes never leaving the Czerka abominations.

"Oh...enough. I hope," Mry'da said.

Mako was working a device she had gotten from the Reclamation team and sent a scan towards the artifact.

"Well, Captain Golah was right. That thing is over ten thousand years old. This device can't properly date it."

"Alright...same plan as before. But take these with you."

Digging into her pouches at her waist, she pulled out a hand full of small round devices. She handed half to Gault and the other half to Mako. Spying some grenades on the bandolier that Corso had and knowing her friend, she spoke.

"If those need to be used, use them. Though try not to bring the whole place down on our heads," Mry'da said drily.

With that, they began to move into the cavern.

A drone group noted the movement and began to make their way towards them. Mry'da wasted no time in rising into the air and raining missiles on them. The brute controller in the back flew backwards, a large hole in its head.

Gault walked with purpose, snipping the bigger ones before they could even get close.

Awryn had a portable shield she would activate when she needed to before she swept a group in blaster fire. Mako was doing the same.

As Mry'da landed, however, she heard a shout behind her.

"Look out!!"

She found herself falling to the ground, her breath getting knocked out slightly. Trying to push whatever it was off her, she heard the same voice growl at her, " _Stay down!!_ "

Shaking her head after regaining her breath, Mry'da focused on who was holding her down. Gault was lying across her, propping his elbows on her chest plate as he held his rifle at the ready, the barrel on a rock just ahead of them.

"Alright, hold still..." he muttered, taking careful aim. Two soft "thumps" sounded and she heard a body hit the floor.

Bresthing a sigh of relief, Mry'da felt his breath ghost across her face. She shivered slightly.

"You gonna let me up now?"

Cursing softly, the Devaronian hopped up, careful not to step on her. Free, she reached up and took his offered hand, coming up against his chest as he pulled her to her feet.

"Sorry, " he said, his voice gruff and eyes on their surroundings.

"No, thank you for saving me," she said, a light flush on her cheeks. Gault nodded and readied his rifle once more.

The rest of the group was working their way through the other drone packs, thinning them out easily with detonators and other types of grenades. Happy that they were relatively safe, she and Gault made their way to the artifact.

Mry'da saw, however, how close Gault stayed by her, flanking her right.

Suddenly, the whole cavern shook. Rods popped out of the edifice and began crackling electricity.

_"Come to me. Come close, so we may be one."_

A strange alien voice sounded, booming around the cavern. Then, a large hologram appeared before them.

_"I am the Imprisoned One. Few beings have the strength to resist us...but you have earned my respect. We may share words."_

Awryn, Corso, and Mako came up behind them, weapons trained on the few drones and controllers left, but they listened to the alien in front of them.

Placing her hands on her pistols, Mry'da said, "You called yourself "The Imprisoned One"?"

Gault frowned at the hologram.

 _"My true name is lost. The epithet is all I remember,"_ the being said. He focused his oddly protruding eyes on her and Awryn, who had finally joined her at her side, opposite of Gault.

_"I am Rakata--it is the name of my people. Eons ago, our Infinite Empire ruled this world and many others. Yet I reached for greater majesty and my people sealed my mind in this box as punishment. I drifted in whiteness for over twenty thousand years."_

"Rakata..." Mako whispered, her eyes wide. "I thought they were wiped out..."

Looking at her long time friend, Mry'da replied, "You're people trapped you on Tatooine."

The Imprisoned One nodded solemnly.

 _"When your Czerka Corporation found my prison, I touched this world again. I crafted my skin-vessels and machine-hands,"_ the Rakata said. Narrowing its eyes, he continued, _"I find your galaxy wanting. I choose to remake it and give birth to a new Infinite Empire."_

Awryn snorted, crossing her arms and cocking a hip.

"You're mighty proud of yourself, aren't you?"

A spark of anger flashed through the being's eyes. Gault swore and raised his rifle. New drones and controllers materialized before them and surrounded the device.

_"You truly do not comprehend me. I hoped for more. You will lead our army out of the sands. This world's settlements will fall, and my skin-vessels will proceed to the stars."_

Two machines went into operation on opposite ends of the artifact's cavern. More drones and controllers began to emerge from these machines.

"Fuck!! Destroy those generators and controls!! Split up!!" Mry'da roared.

Awryn and Corso were making their way to the east side of the complex, blasting drones as they went. Gault, Mako, and herself focused on the ones in front of them. Low on missiles, Mry'da just sprayed blaster bolts and sent shock darts at them, to stop them long enough for Gault to knife them or Mako to blast them as well. Being so close quarters, the Devaronian had been forced to fight dirty, hand-to-hand.

Those cleared out, they made their to the west side of the cavern.

Mry'da used the last of her missiles to rain them down on the drones near the controls. Any controller was sniped by Gault. Mako ran for the machine and placed sticky bombs on the surface before she ran back to her boss.

Just as a new wave of drones appeared, the three of them were already running. An explosion went off and the machines whirred down, the drones dropping to the floor.

Returning to the artifact, the Rakata was looking bereft.

 _"No more! The destruction ends now..."_ the Imprisoned One implored.

_"I believed the information in the Czerka archives had prepared me for this confrontation. I was mistaken."_

The Rakata looked at each of them in turn.

_"Your brutality astonishes even me. You have used crude and primitive weapons in ways I had not expected. I acknowledge my defeat."_

Mry'da sneered, "Surrender yourself and the artifacts."

_"You speak clearly--and you speak, I think, of reasoned action. It would be pointless for you to end my existence when we could do so much for one another."_

"Marvelous. Absolutely marvelous!!"

The group turned just as a man in the Czerka uniform walked up to them, three body guards behind him.

"Oh great. The fucker showed after all..."Awryn growled.

"This Leksende?" Mry'da asked.

Awryn nodded as the man spoke again.

"We could never have excavated this place without your help. Oh, we _knew_ where the base was--but getting inside? _Ghastly_ work," he said, sliding a smirk the Cathar's way. "And I should say, I'm _delighted_ to finally meet you in person. Friends of yours?"

"What the fuck did you dig up?" she growled, her fangs bared and green eyes flashing. The fur at her neck was bristling.

"Exciting, isn't it? You see, when I was assigned to stop the Republic and the Empire from finding this facility, I was intrigued by the "doomsday device"."

Looking over the group, he signaled his bodyguards to ready themselves. The five before him did the same.

"That my superiors told me to stay away only whet my appetite. I decided to take the device for myself."

"And just what, exactly, are you going to do with it?" Mako asked, frowning at him.

"I'm not sure yet. I could experiment on it, integrate it into my cybernetics, display it on the mantel...but here me out," he said, pausing for effect. "I'm offering a _very_ large sum of credits--as well as rescinding the "kill order" on Kamus--if you help me."

Face going serious, Leksende proposed, "Hand over the device, and the Republic nor the Empire ever has to know; tell your superiors you destroyed it. What do you say?"

Mry'da had glanced at Gault. Credits would be nice...but after seeing the horrors that the Rakatan device could do...

 _"Bring me to your masters--I will aid them in my surrender. I will reward you with technology your kind has never seen,"_ the Rakatan said, spreading it's arms out in a show of wonder.

"Does this answer your question?" Awryn asked.

She and Mry'da turned to the device and the Rakata hologram.

"You've lived long enough already," the Chiss growled. Glancing at Gault, who was nodding at her in understanding, she and Awryn raised their weapons.

They fired.

 _"I--deny thi- !! Th--whiteness--protect me!! --Infinite Empi--be reborn..."_ the Imprisoned One cried, breaking into static as the artifact was destroyed. The hologram faded out and the machine that was powering the device sparked and began to fall apart.

Rocks fell from the ceiling as the cavern shook. Mako and Corso dodged a few. Awryn ducked out of the way. Mry'da went to move when she felt Gault grab her arm and pull her to him.

Leksende was furious.

" _How_ could you do that?! Do you know what thing _was?!_ What it was _worth?!"_ he roared. "Oh, now you've left me no choice. I'm going to have to kill you. Painfully!!"

Ordering them, his bodyguards opened fire. Mry'da blasted them while Awryn faced down Leksende. Before she could get in a killing blow, a large rock came crashing down, which she dodged in time. Leksende was not so lucky.

Shortly after, the rumbles in the cavern subsided and the five man team breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Well that's over, "Mry'da mumbled. "Now it's time to go and disappoint Captain Golah. Though I have a feeling he won't be that disappointed."

"Heh, Fauler might be a bit mad, but so long as Czerka is now pushed out and a threat neutralized, he'll be fine," Awryn said, shrugging.

"Let's get out of here. Please? I don't want to risk these things possibly waking up again..."Gault pleaded, nervously looking around him.

"I agree with the red devil, Captain. Let's get out of here and find that computer," Corso said, shuddering.

 _"Red devil?"_ the Devaronian said, insulted. "Gault Rennow's the _name_ and _don't you forget it._ "

Grinning at him in amusement, Mry'da and Mako urged him out, away from getting into a fist fight with Awryn's companion.

They all began running out of the cavern, heading for the elevator. Before they left, however, Mry'da threw her pouch full of grenades into the room and shot a blaster bolt at them.

They exploded, setting off the cave in she was trying to avoid earlier.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as she had expected, Golah was disappointed, but he was happy with the one artifact they had, especially now that the entity was neutralized. He wished them well and would call on them if they ever needed them again. Mry'da was fine with that, having gotten rather fond of the little archeological group.

They had parted ways with Awryn and Corso shortly before visiting Captain Golah.

They were taking a shuttle back to the spaceport when Mry'da nudged Gault.

"Not bad, Red. You had plenty of opportunities to kill me or let me be killed and you didn't do it. You're officially now a part of the team," she said, a huge grin on her face.

Chuckling, Gault crossed his arms and winked at her.

"Excitement seems like it's gonna follow you. As much as I don't wanna get shot at, this seems like a promising gig. You and the girl over there are pretty impressive," he said, bumping his shoulder against her.

"Aw, you two are _bonding!_ " Mako giggled. They both just rolled their eyes.

"Oh, it's gonna get better, Red. Trust me. With the Great Hunt in progress, we have a few more bounties to go before we get the big prize."

 _"Red?"_ he asked, raising a brow at her.

She shrugged, "I liked the term. And you can be a devil of a pain, sometimes. Seems like a good nickname, huh?"

"Hmm, only if I get to call you one eventually as well."

"Deal."


End file.
